The Hunted Chapter 19 snippet (new writing)

Lou Greenwald took a deep breath and was pleased he had gotten out of the damned apartment. Ever since Almir had slipped their grasp (With help of another Intelligence agent, he fumed, which there wasn’t supposed to be ANY helping her!) they had been holed up like common criminals. If that bitch Larson didn’t get her head out of her ass, he was going to go nuts!

Why weren’t they on the offensive, he wondered while kicking a can on the sidewalk. Everyone knew that Almir would be hunting Peres, so the bounty hunters and mercenaries had planted themselves along the course she would take. There was no way in hell the woman was going to reach the Syndicate agent without dying…it was just that simple.

However, it still didn’t answer why Larson hadn’t gone out looking for the Agent. The longer they let Almir live, the harder it would be to kill her when someone got the chance. Her surviving this long with the bounty out was utterly amazing, and that run of good luck had to be brought to an end!

Thank God that Rodeo had a decent Chinese joint on it, Greenwald noted, because I would’ve gone crazy without my chop suey!

He cursed under his breath when the pedestrian signal changed to stop. Why was it that every time that happened to him? Did others ALWAYS get the ‘do not walk’ sign or did the controllers of the signals not like Hilgarians?

The cold, metal end of the gun barrel touched the side of his temple. Greenwald took in a deep breath and thought better of saying anything. Whoever it was, they had a different type of camouflage suit then Adams had given them the specs for! It couldn’t possible be Almir, could it?

“Hello,” the woman’s voice was familiar and it only took him a second to realize who was speaking. He winced while the realization sank in: Almir had captured him. “I think we need to talk.”

“I don’t know anything,”

“Don’t lie to me,” Almir’s voice turned colder then space. “I’ve got a gun at your head and a itchy trigger finger; if you value your life, tell me what I want to know.”

“Right here in the middle of the street?”

“No,” Almir said. “We’re going into that little ally over there, and you’re going to tell me where is Peres.”

The damned woman had to be out of her mind! She expected him to tell everything he knew on an open city street? That would be signed his own death warrant and Almir knew it! Goddamn it!

“I don’t think you know whom you’re dealing with,” the sweat ran down his face. “These people will kill me in a heart beat.”

“‘These people,’” the sarcasm filled the air. “Are the same ones who have been trying to kill me-and have failed! So, do you want to talk here or back at the apartment?”

She just didn’t get it, Greenwald thought, and never will. The Syndicate will never back down, never give up and Almir was marked for death! What would it take for that fact to sink in? More then likely by this time next week, the woman would be just a memory and someone would have the bounty in hand.

The ally was deserted when he entered it. With the damned bitch using her camouflage suit, it was impossible to know where exactly she was. Since trying to fight back was impossible, the best thing to do was to try to stall her until someone else in the team noticed he was late.

“Where’s Peres?”

“There’s nothing to tell-“

The left side of his face erupted in pain and blood flowed from a split bottom lip. Goddamn, the woman could hit hard! Was she cybernetic? That wasn’t something that Adams had told them about! Did the Syndicate withhold information from the people working for them to eliminate Almir?

“I can do this all night,” the damned woman was taunting him! “If necessary. Do you think holding out that long is possible? Where’s Peres?”

“I’m not telling you ****,”

Another blow slammed into Greenwald’s face. This time it came from the opposite direction and he felt a tooth come loose in his mouth. Oh God, the pain was incredible! Where had a woman learned to hit like that?

The bitch is going to kill me, he thought while spitting the tooth and some blood onto the pavement.

“I’m not going to ask you again,” Goddamn that woman, he fumed, and her arrogance! “Where is Simon Peres?”

“I don’t know,” he lied.

A pair of invisible hands picked him up off the ground and wrapped themselves around his throat. They slowly contracted and Greenwald found he couldn’t breathe. Within seconds, his head started to pound and his vision started to go black.

“Now,” his hands clawed at the invisible ones around his neck. “Do you want to talk to me or shall I crush your throat?”

Who the hell would have thought it would end like this? He thought before common sense got the better of him. I’d rather tell her and take my chances on dying then to have the bitch kill me!

He nodded frantically in agreement with Almir. Please, God, let her let up before he died! At thirty-five years of age, it wasn't time to die already!

“Yes,” he gasped. “I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

“I thought so,” the smugness in Almir’s voice made Greenwald want to puke, but he had to surrender to her. “Where’s Peres?”

“He runs a entertainment company downtown,” the hands released his neck and Greenwald sucked down huge breaths of air before speaking again. “Its name is Rhapsody Entertainment.”

“What kind of security has he got?”

“I don’t know,” for once he was honest, because he had never been insides Peres’ building on home. “I’ve never been inside anything he owns.”

“Has any of your team?”

“Been what? Inside Peres’ property?” The woman was unbelievable! “Only Larson-our team leader.”

“The blond who was trying to look like a photographer?”

“Yes,”

“Good,” Almir’s voice sounded pleased, which worried him. “I think we’re going to pay a visit to your team.”

“Are you nuts?” She had to be out of her mind, he thought, because that would be a suicidal trip!

“Not the last time I checked,” a displeased tone filled the air. “But then, you’re coming with us.”

The invisible hands pulled him to his feet. Once again, there was no need to resist. Besides, if things were played right, then the rest of the team could take the bitch down and everyone could be rich!

Without another word, he lead Almir through the city streets…